


if things go right we can frame it and put you on a wall

by thekaidonovskys



Series: Becoming Three [9]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: M/M, Polyamory Implications, Tattoo Aftercare, Tattoos, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-29
Updated: 2014-07-29
Packaged: 2018-02-10 21:40:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2041221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thekaidonovskys/pseuds/thekaidonovskys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They look comfortable and at peace with one another, and that’s all the more reason for Tendo to ignore his heart right now. Because he’d never split them up, and really that’s not what he wants, after all. He kind of wants both of them, and he’s kind of not going to get both of them, and he should just be grateful that he’s here with them, with his two best friends in the world who have done so much for him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	if things go right we can frame it and put you on a wall

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted by Tumblr user thekaidonovskys. This really belongs between Part 1 and Part 2 but I didn't want to break up the flow of that section.

“Hermaaaaaaaann!”

“No,” Hermann says without looking up, and Newt pouts harder.

Tendo smirks. He gets away with it, curled up in his chair with his knees tucked up so only his eyes peer out. It’s a position less about security and more about comfort, now, and in this case it’s so he can watch the  _adorable_ byplay going on between Hermann and Newt. Because it really is severely adorable.

Newt got a new tattoo today. It’s the last one (“That’s what he said about the one before that, so don’t believe him,” Hermann told Tendo over breakfast), filling in the gap along his left side, and it’s beautiful, a stream of colour that apparently doesn’t even come  _close_ to what they saw in the Anteverse, but is Newt’s tribute to it anyway. He’s been drawing it for weeks, even though this one has been less about drawing and more about colour composition. Still, it’s come out amazing.

Tendo went with him, mostly because it’s been awhile since he’s been to a tattoo shop and he kind of missed it. He sat next to Newt while he got inked, and it certainly wasn’t about comfort (Newt didn’t ask to hold his hand, Tendo didn’t offer, but he certainly wouldn’t have said no if it had been put on the table), but more companionship and to pass the time. Newt chatted away with his tattooist, filling her in on events and explaining who Tendo is - but without any detail, naturally. And Tendo got to be the first person to see the finished design, got to see Newt’s eyes light up as he looked at it in the mirror before he had to wrap it up and reluctantly put a shirt back on.

The look in his eyes really didn’t help with the ridiculous things Tendo’s heart has begun doing lately.

But that’s another story.

Right now, the story is all about Newt. Because he’s unwrapped the tattoo and cleaned it off and put the cream on, as instructed, a few hours ago when they got home. He’s shown it off to Hermann who made vaguely uninterested noises, but whose eyes lingered for a bit too long for Tendo to believe his nonchalance. And now he’s sitting on the couch next to Hermann, carefully not resting his left side against the side of the couch, and fidgeting. He’s supposed to be watching TV, but instead he’s watching Hermann, who’s got his good leg tucked up underneath himself and is reading, clearly doing his best to not pay attention to Newt. 

Tendo isn’t exactly sure what Newt  _wants_ out of Hermann - there’s nothing he can do to make Newt’s tattoo heal faster or feel better. But Newt’s asking anyway, complaining at Hermann who’s simply ignoring it with a well-practiced manner. 

Newt sighs dramatically after a bit, and looks back down at his tattoo. He hasn’t elected to put his shirt back on - which is fair enough, considering he’s got an open wound on his side right now - and every so often he seems to need to look back down, to take it in. This time, even though he always looks pretty pleased when he looks at it, he sighs again. “Hermann?” he asks, but this time instead of the whiny tone he’s been using all evening, it’s a bit quieter and definitely more respectful. “Please?”

Hermann sighs this time, then untucks his leg and moves his arm to rest on the edge of the couch where he can still read his book. “If it means I’ll get some peace and quiet, then I  _suppose._ ”

Newt’s moving before Hermann’s finished speaking, gingerly lying down so he’s on his right side, head in Hermann’s lap. He’s clearly trying not to stretch his skin too much, slightly curled into himself, and he tucks both of his arms under his head so they’re not in the way of his tattoo. “Thanks, Herms,” he murmurs. “You love me really, deep down.”

Hermann rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling a little as he drops his free hand into Newt’s hair, running his fingers through it gently. “ _Very_ deep down,” he says. 

“That’s good enough for me.”

Hermann’s definitely smiling now. He looks down at Newt for a bit longer, then looks up, right at Tendo who realizes he’s been staring. But there’s no judgement in Hermann’s gaze - in fact, there’s something that almost feels like understanding and  _no_ , Tendo really doesn’t want understanding right now, not on  _this_. So he returns the smile, then turns his attention to the television, and when he next sneaks a glance back Hermann is reabsorbed into his book and Newt has his eyes closed. 

They look comfortable and at peace with one another, and that’s all the more reason for Tendo to ignore his heart right now. Because he’d  _never_ split them up, and really that’s not what he wants, after all. He kind of wants both of them, and he’s kind of not going to  _get_ both of them, and he should just be grateful that he’s here with them, with his two best friends in the world who have done so much for him. And he is, every day, but sometimes he just  _wants_ , and as long as he doesn’t act on it or let them know, then there’s not a lot else he can do. 

He can’t actually control what he desires, after all. He can simply choose not to act on it. 

Tendo looks back to the television, but it’s only a few minutes later that his attention’s caught by them again, this time by Hermann calling it. “Tendo?” he asks. “Would you mind getting Newton’s tattoo cream for me?”

“Not a problem.” Tendo swings himself out of his chair and goes searching, finding it in the bathroom. He brings it through to Hermann, settles himself back in, and watches as Hermann uncaps the tube and squeezes some out onto his fingers. “The begging worked then?”

Hermann smiles. “It’s a routine,” he says, putting the tube down and beginning to gently dab the cream onto Newt’s freshly marked skin. “He gets needles jabbed into himself for hours on end and expects me to celebrate it with him, then four hours later he’s complaining because it hurts and expects me to look after him. And because I’m only human, I do both.”

The way Hermann’s working with Newt’s tattoo certainly makes it seem like a routine. “How long have you been doing this?” Tendo asks. “I mean, he had most of them before you two got together, right?”

“He did. But he started collecting them when we were working together, and simply because he informed me of the potential hazards around his back tattoos not being looked after properly, I had to assist. I detested him, but I didn’t want him dead.”

“Sure seemed like it,” Newt says sleepily without opening his eyes. “You didn’t know how to touch me properly then, either. Way too much pressure.”

Tendo snickers and Hermann rolls his eyes at him, but fondly. “At least I shouldn’t have to do this too many more times, if at all,” he says, looking back down at Newt’s skin as he finishes rubbing in the cream. “You’re running out of canvas, darling.”

“Mm, I know. Might have to move on to you.”

“In your  _dreams_.”

“Tendo, then.” Newt opens one eye and looks over at him. “What do you think? I had an amazing idea for a Jaeger arm piece -  _Crimson Typhoon_ would be incredible to tattoo.”

Tendo smiles. “We’ll see.”

“You sound like Hermann.  _We’ll see_ always means no.”

Tendo looks down at Newt’s tattoo. “I wouldn’t get this level of care if I got mine done, though.”

Newt yawns and closes his eye again. “I’m sure I could lend you Hermann.”

Tendo can’t help but look at Hermann, who he finds staring right back at him. Tendo attempts a smile, hoping his expression has stayed natural, but he’s pretty sure it hasn’t. 

Judging by the look in Hermann’s eyes, it definitely hasn’t. 

But with the way Hermann’s looking back at him, Tendo realises that they’re not talking about it. Whatever Hermann knows or thinks he knows is Tendo’s to share or not share, and he manages to express all of that in only a few seconds, before smiling back and looking away, back to his book. And Tendo’s relieved, glad it’s going to be this way, glad that whatever Hermann might have seen is simply going to be ignored. It should be. Because despite all of Newt’s whining and Hermann’s exasperation with him and all of their apparent incompatibility, they’re so happy together. And if they’re happy, Tendo’s happy, and that’s what matters. 

Tendo doesn’t manage to read Hermann himself from that look, but that’s okay. He has no expectations. Being here is enough. 

(And hey, he gets to watch another four or five days of Newt being adorably whiny until his tattoo starts to heal. That’s always a plus.)

**Author's Note:**

> Ha. Unrequited crush. As if. 
> 
> Title from "Lego House".


End file.
